Alabama · zones 7b–9a
When to plant broccoli in Alabama.
Sow or transplant between Feb 1 to Mar 1 in a typical year, keyed to Alabama's median last frost around Mar 25. A second, fall sowing fits Jul 25 to Sep 3. Dates below are state medians; your ZIP code shifts them by days to weeks.
The 2026 windows
Broccoli dates for a typical Alabama season.
1 · Start indoors
Dec 21 to Jan 18
About 6 weeks before set-out. Warm spot, real light.
2 · Set out
Feb 1 to Mar 1
Keyed to the ~Mar 25 last frost. Sow 0.5" deep, 18" apart.
Fall round
Jul 25 to Sep 3
Counted back from the ~Nov 8 first frost.
Harvest
~60 days later
~1.2 lb per plant over ~3 weeks.
Alabama spans more than one climate: Zone 8 is the most common zone, but the state runs 7b to 9a. That's why the planner works from your ZIP code's frost dates, not your zone: mountain and coastal gardens in the same state can be three weeks apart.
Alabama growing notes
Broccoli in Alabama is really two crops.
Fall beats spring here
Alabama's spring broccoli window is a race. The crop needs 50 to 70 days of cool weather, and the state jumps from frost to 85-degree afternoons fast. Heat above roughly 95 degrees during the ten days when a head is first forming rices it, swelling the buds loose and grainy instead of letting them pack into a tight dome; cut a head a touch early rather than let it sit and rice through a hot stretch. Spring still works, but only with transplants set out as early as frost risk reasonably allows, never from direct seed.
The fall crop is where Alabama broccoli shines. Transplants set in late summer mature into November's cool weather, heads size up over 2 to 3 extra weeks without bolting, and light frost sweetens the crop instead of ending it. Keep those summer trays moving and get plants into the ground before they go root-bound; a transplant held too long before it heads buttons instead, throwing a head the size of a quarter and quitting for the year. If you only plant one round, plant the fall one. Mature plants shrug off nights in the mid 20s.
Varieties and the boron problem
Packman and Green Magic mature in roughly 55 to 60 days and beat the heat window on both ends. Gypsy carries better heat tolerance for pushing the season. Skip the 75-day-plus varieties in spring; they run straight into June.
Alabama's sandy and weathered soils are commonly low in boron, and broccoli is the crop that shows it: stems that look fine outside but are hollow and brown inside. If you cut hollow stems this year, the fix is cheap and specific: 1 tablespoon of borax dissolved per 100 square feet, once, worked in before planting. More is not better; boron turns toxic fast. Hold pH at 6.0 to 6.8 and the plant can actually reach what is in the soil.
The caterpillar gauntlet
Every brassica in Alabama feeds three caterpillars: imported cabbageworm, cabbage looper, and diamondback moth larvae. The scouting test is a white butterfly in daylight: see one, and eggs are already on leaf undersides. Bt kurstaki sprayed weekly from transplant controls all three while sparing bees and ladybugs, and it stops working if you wait until the heads form to start.
The Southeast adds a fourth player most northern guides skip: the harlequin bug, a shield bug in orange and black that stipples and wilts brassicas in warm weather. Hand-crush the barrel-striped egg clusters on leaf undersides, and pull plants right after final harvest so the bugs lose their overwintering hotel. A fall crop planted where spring brassicas stood inherits the spring crop's bugs; move it even 20 feet.
In Alabama: watch for
The pests that find broccoli here.
A middle-length season, about 228 frost-free days, means broccoli overlaps cabbage worms & loopers for a stretch each summer. Check plants every week or two and treat early.
Green caterpillars chewing ragged holes; green droppings.
Organic fix: Handpick, cover with netting, spray Bt.
Gray-green clusters tucked into the leaf folds.
Organic fix: Blast with water, then insecticidal soap.
Tiny holes peppering the young leaves.
Organic fix: Row cover from day one; diatomaceous earth.
Black rot
Yellow V-shaped wedges cutting in from the leaf edge, veins blackening inside.
Organic fix: Pull infected plants, water at the base, keep brassicas out of that bed 3 years.
Seedlings wilt, yellow and stall for no reason; white maggots tunnel the roots.
Organic fix: Row cover before the flies are up, when yellow rocket blooms; rotate the bed.
Your season math: Alabama gives broccoli about 228 frost-free days, and it needs roughly 60 days to a first harvest. It's a one-planting crop, so time that single sowing well.
Planting broccoli in Alabama: questions
When should I plant broccoli in Alabama?+
In a typical Alabama year, sow broccoli or set out transplants between Feb 1 to Mar 1, keyed to the state's median last frost around Mar 25. There's also a fall window: Jul 25 to Sep 3. Your exact dates shift with your ZIP code and microclimate.
When do I start broccoli seeds indoors in Alabama?+
Start seeds inside about 6 weeks before set-out: roughly Dec 21 to Jan 18 for a typical Alabama season.
What USDA zone is Alabama?+
Alabama spans zones 7b–9a, mostly zone 8. But frost dates, not zones, set planting time. The free planner uses your ZIP code's actual frost dates.
How many broccoli plants do I need?+
Depends who you're feeding. The crop page has exact counts per household size, or the free planner does the math for your family in about 60 seconds.